Author Topic: Pt. Reyes National Seashore, 2014  (Read 702 times)

Bill De Jager

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Pt. Reyes National Seashore, 2014
« on: December 25, 2016, 23:35:06 »
Pt. Reyes is a prominent point on the coast north of San Francisco, but is also the name for a fascinating section of coastline extending well beyond the point itself.  The first two photos and the last photo were taken with a Canon 70D and the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

Lichens

Lichens, Pt Reyes by Bill de Jager, on Flickr

Lichens and peeling bark on manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.).

Manzanita, Pt. Reyes by Bill de Jager, on Flickr

Tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes). 

Elk, Pierce Pt. by Bill de Jager, on Flickr

Tule is a Spanish name in California for the local species of bulrush (Scirpus californica).  The animal called elk in North America would be called red deer in the U.K.  This photo was taken with a Canon FD 800mm f/5.6 lens on a Canon 70D using a third-party adapter.  (The adapter is supposed to allow focus to infinity due to the lens normally focusing beyond infinity, but my copy wouldn't quite make it.)  Support was a Gitzo 4-series tripod and a RRS gimbal head.  Next time I'll use a steadier setup now that I have it.

The elk at this location are so tame that they simply got closer and closer to me such that I ended up mainly with extreme closeups.  I was focusing using live view, which meant that the photo was delayed slightly after focus to allow use of a self-timer with mirror lock-up.  Thus, most photos were either out of focus or poorly composed by the moment the shutter was released.  I didn't try to focus on the viewfinder screen.  Given the sensitivity to motion inherent with a field of view equivalent to a 1200mm  lens, MLU was essential.  Next time I'll try using a remote.

Finally, the Pt. Reyes peninsula itself.  I had to torture this raw file to get better results, as the original has an extreme bimodal histogram with low local contrast.  I could not lighten up the foreground more without losing too much of the dark moodiness in the clouds.

Pt Reyes from near Pierce Point by Bill de Jager, on Flickr

Jack Dahlgren

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Re: Pt. Reyes National Seashore, 2014
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2017, 23:28:51 »
On the lee side of the point is Drake's Bay, the supposed location Sir Francis Drake put his boats ashore for repair.